A Redneck Perspective:A Book Review and Shameless Self-promotion.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

By Clyde Thornhill

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Jackson Hole has changed since the old days, but the pioneer spirit still pervades the people of Jackson. In his new book, “Saddles to Sushi” Jackson Hole native Clyde Thornhill chronicles the smile-in-the-face-of-hardship struggles of second homeowners trying to find competent maids and gardeners, as well as cool, outdoor types unable to find the perfect pair of Patagonia shorts to match their new tee shirt.

With the boldness typical of a Hemingway novel, Clyde gallantly attends art openings, non-profit benefits and coffee shops, all the while mingling with actual Jackson Hole locals, some who have lived in the valley for several months!

Part academic investigation of social interaction and part instructional manual on scoring “cool chicks,” “Saddles to Sushi” is bold yet subtle, deep yet shallow, intellectual yet accessible. As one turns the pages, one is reminded of the literary style of James Joyce, of F. Scott Fitzgerald, of Mad Magazine.

Writers on the Range Press in conjunction with Shades Café and Planet Jackson Hole, have flown Clyde in all the way from Hog Island for one night only. He will read from and sign his work. There will be Shades’ famous food, along with wine, beer, and hopefully, Susie will show up with a low cut top and black lace.

Remember, book signings and readings are better than art gallery openings, because you don’t have to pretend to be interested in art to snag a free glass of wine and some tasty hors d’oeuvre! What better way to impress your date than an evening of high culture!

Party starts on the deck at 6:00 p.m., Thursday, June 26. Reading at 7 p.m. This promises to be the prevalent social event for today’s literary-sophisticated- urbane-redneck.

Here is a handful of the rave reviews this earth-shattering book has received in the literary world:

Smoot Fashion Review: “Clyde is emblematic of a new generation of internationally savvy fashion and art scene connoisseurs, who have recently congregated in his trailer park. Hog Island has become the mountain equivalent of the 1920’s Paris of Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound and Hemingway.”

Wamsutter Junction Daily: “Clyde touches a nerve of the trailer house, beer drinking, pick-up truck driving community. His vivid account of survival in the harsh, super chic environment of Jackson Hole is a testament to the human spirit.”

Hog Island Literary Review: “ ‘Saddles to Sushi’ has been called reactionary. Yet Clyde takes a problematic, multi-disciplined approach to his writing that transcends the genre. He is unapologetic in his use of untransformed romanticism … impassable and persuasive … influential and unforgettable. Without question the most important series of essays to come out of Hog Island in days.

Oprah: “A moving and relevant piece of literature for anyone seeking a more loving self and answers to questions like: ‘What is the meaning of life?’ ‘How do I find true joy?’ And, ‘Why do men like sausage gravy with biscuits for breakfast?’”

The New Yorker: “Clyde has exchanged the rhetorically explosive (the common currency of contemporary, trailer-park essayists) with a more introspective style reminiscinent of the surreal counter post-modern movment. His ascension to deity of this faction, though ineluctable, is perhaps unjustifiable and premature. Still, his composition is essentially serious art and his work delineates with heightened realism the avant-garde psychological theories and hypotheses of the macrocosm engaging the incongruous of agrarian and urban experience.

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